A rant

I am writing this to blow off some steam about how an idiot installed my new water heater.

I imagine that most people reading this are familiar with PVC (plastic pipe). Well, the idiot, here in Mexico, did the most incredibly stupid thing I can possibly imagine. Instead of applying pipe dope (a special type of glue) to the ends of the plastic pipe, which would have made an unbreakable bond, he merely wrapped Teflon tape to the ends of the pipes, and then pushed them together.

So, what happens ? You guessed it. That very night the pipes came apart during the night and when I woke up, I stepped into 3 inch deep water in my apartment.

It took me hours and hours to get that water out of my apartment. Naturally, the landlady was unreachable and I had to fix the pipes myself.

That, my friends is one example of what life in Mexico is like. Grr ! The entire country is like that.

Re: A rant

What a nightmare for you. I hope it gets sorted fast. Did you lose things like carpets due to water damage? Are your electrics ok?

I have never had pipes leak, but had a constantly leaking roof in not one, but two houses I lived in when I was first married. The landlords tried to fix them, and for a couple of weeks everything was fine but then the leaks started again. In the case of the second house, the leak started before my wife was pregnant and it kept happening up until my son was 2 years old! I still have dreams that i am in some sort of house and the roof leaks and water runs down the walls.

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I feel for you Bakerman.

A few houses ago I had a new bathroom installed. The guy who did it was a depressive sort and rather uncommunicative. If it wasn't for him being recommended to me, I wouldn't have had him.

Anyway when everything was near completion he said I could use the bath, so I naturally had a bath. Emptied the water. Went to do my hair ... blah blah.

Eventually went downstairs into the kitchen and all the water had come down through the ceiling over the top of the kitchen cabinets, work surfaces and floor.

I phoned him and he refused to come out (it was about 10/10.30pm).
Thankfully I had a mate who could turn his hand to most things. He kindly came out asap and said the plastic pipes were not secured properly.

He phoned the original chap and told him to get stuffed and that he would finish the job (properly).

I really can't remember if I paid the first guy it was that long ago.

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In the UK there are basically three types of pipe connectors: push fit, compression and solvent weld.

The first two are self explanatory and can be easily taken apart. They are fine providing that sufficient supporting brackets are put in place, but tend to be used by DIYers.

The latter involve using glue, and will not come apart ever after about 5 minutes. These also require pipes made from a different type of plastic, which is slightly different in diameter to push fit pipes.

I have never heard of anyone using tape to seal push fit fittings, and only a moron would consider it as appropriate. One can use tape to help minor leaks on compression fittings, to help where the rubber washer has a minor tear, but even this isn't really ideal.

Who commissioned this halfwit to do the work? Is he insured, because most proper tradesmen (in the UK)take out indemnity policies to cover them when things go wrong? If the landlady hired the imbecile, then I trust that you will let her know about the situation, since apart from anything else, you don't want her to sue you for damages to her apartment.

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Same in Brazil., no training just father to son , a roofer would earn a fortune repairing bad workmanship

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Bet the Fella who did the job was in a rush, too many Speedy Gonzales types over there.

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Sounds awful BM, there's nothing quite like a pipe burst to make a mess of things, the great life giver yet the great destroyer also...

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The idiot who did the work is an employee of the landlady. I will see her at the 1st of the month when it is time to pay the rent. I'll certainly fill her ear with my complaints.

No, I did not lose any carpeting. The flooring of the entire flat is ceramic tiles. I did, however, lose boxes and boxes of books. This was not merely a leak. The entire pipe came apart at a joint and the full force of the water pressure was running for hours while I was asleep. If I did not live on the ground floor, the water would have certainly flooded the flat below me.